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The more you see, the safer you drive. That's why GM builds in systems that improve illumination and keep glare to a minimum. High-tech lighting and mirrors: We combine high-intensity halogen headlights with features like self-dimming electrochromic rear-view mirrors (capable of reducing night time glare by as much as 94 percent). In some vehicles, the driver's outside mirror is also self-dimming. On more and more GM passenger vehicles, we're offering heated external mirrors that prevent mist or ice from forming and on some models headlamp washers integrated with windshield washers and wipers that help show you what's ahead in bad weather. GM has also adopted High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting. This new lighting technology is made to provide about twice the brightness of ordinary headlights, closely approximating daylight. At the same time, HID lights use less power and can last for 160,000 km (100,000 miles) of driving time. High-Intensity Discharge lamps operate more like vapor-filled streetlights. They don’t have a filament, but create light by zapping an arc between two electrodes. That arc excites a different kind of gas, usually xenon, which in turn ignites metallic salts. Better information display: GM's Head-Up Display (HUD) projects information on the windshield, so you can keep your eyes up and on the road. The latest HUD systems are easier to read and display pertinent driver information. Night
Vision: While night time driving represents only about
a quarter of the total driving experience,
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it accounts for more than half of all traffic fatalities.
GM was the first automaker to bring the safety benefits of
thermal-imaging technology to drivers with the introduction
of Night Vision. The system uses thermal imaging, or infrared
technology, which creates pictures based on heat energy emitted
by objects in the viewed scene. Night Vision gives drivers
additional visual information and also “sees” in
fog and rain. Depending on conditions, Night Vision allows
drivers to see down the road up to three to five times farther
ahead than low-beam headlights. Night Vision can also help
drivers see beyond the headlight glare from oncoming vehicles.
The image, projected by a head-up display (HUD) near the front
edge of the hood, is in the driver’s peripheral vision
and is designed not to obstruct the view of the road. |
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